The Cold: Prologue

The day was warm and bright, with very few clouds in the pristine blue sky. Two girls lay under a white flowering tree as a breeze blows small petals down to the lush green grass and the females.

"Kiyoko, look! That one reminds me of a neko!" The younger of the two spoke while pointing toward a cloud. Her white wolf ears and tail were twitching with excitement. Her vibrant emerald eyes smiling as she moved some of her unkempt midnight blue locks out of her face with a lightly tanned hand.

"I see it, Fuyuko." The elder girl smiled. She sat up fanning her light, almost white, blue hair to remove some blades of grass. Her eyes, a lighter green than the other girls, wandered over to her companion. She smiled as her pale hand took the younger girl's. "Come sister, we should be getting back now; else father will tan both our hides."

"You know if we just give him the big eyes he can't stay mad at us." Fuyuko smiled until she caught the look on her sister's face. "It's such a beautiful day out though! I'd rather roll in the grass all day then go to some snobby yokai lord's gathering!" The hanyou huffed out, lowering her ears to her head. "What could be so important that we have to go with him?"

"I've already told you; he, as in the Lord of the West, is looking to help his son find a mate." Kiyoko sighed, exasperated with her sister's whining.

"What if he picks one of us?" Fuyuko spoke softly as she sat up and drew her knees to her chest. "Will we ever get to see father or each other again?" The young half wolf sounded distraught at the mere thought of losing her only two family members.

"Stop worrying so much, sister. Something would be worked out." The yokai took the younger girl's hand in hers and gave it a tight squeeze. They looked at each other and smiled affectionately. "Now let us be off before father comes looking for us."

"Right, and remember the big eyes if he gets mad!" Laughing, they brushed themselves off and dashed toward their home, unbeknown to the sisters that they were being watched.

…

"Where are those girls at?" A tall man spoke as he paced back and forth in his cave like room. His midnight hair was tied back with a few shorter locks hanging in front of his emerald eyes. He was dressed in a more formal fashion with a dark colored fur cape hanging from his shoulders.

"I am positive they are fine, my lord." A scruffier looking man spoke up from behind the looming figure.

"I know they are perfectly capable of taking care of taking care of themselves, Daisuke. Yet, a father cannot help but worry about his daughters' safety." The man sighed as he stopped his pacing, glancing about the room. "I just wish that both of their mothers were here to see them this day."

"They would both be joyful, Lord Hajime." Daisuke watched his lord with concern in his pale blue eyes. He knew the daiyokai worried when his daughters left his sight, more so with his youngest. The girls were always together though, no matter where they went, as they would be tonight.

Hajime smiled softly as the scent of his beloved daughters drew nearer to his chambers. He loved them both deeply, even the hanyou, where most would turn her away he accepted her for who she was. He saw a more of him in the younger but her personality matched her mothers, while the eldest took after her mother yet with his personality.

"They have returned, my lord, would you like me to bring them to you before they get prepared or after?" Daisuke kept his head bowed as he spoke.

"After would be lovely, thank you, Daisuke, you're dismissed until they are ready." Hajime smiled at his faithful companion who nodded before taking his leave. "Those girls are going to be a handful either way when I wish to talk to them, may as well tell them to uses proper etiquette before we leave so they keep it in their heads. Asami, Harumi, I wish both of you could be here to see our girls." He reminisced.

…

"Do I have to get a bath?" Fuyuko whined as she was undressed by two of her personal maids.

"Yes you do sister, if you want to have a chance at catching the young Inu lord's eye." Kiyoko teased her little sister. Her soft hair was being done up in a fancy half up half down style. She watched her sister blush and smiled softly.

"N-no! I don't want to impress him!" She averted her gaze from her elder sister as she was sat in a hot tub of water. "Hot!" The midnight haired girl yelped and her tail shot out of the water, splashing some of the water around violently.

"Hey!" Kiyoko scolded. "Watch that tail of yours!"

"Sorry sister." Fuyuko smiled sheepishly.

The maids finished getting the girls ready, each looking elegant and beautiful but not over the top. Soon, Daisuke came to tell them that their father wanted a word with them. The girls looked at one another before complying with their father's wishes.

"Ah, my two favorite, most beautiful girls in the whole land." Hajime smiled as the siblings walked into his chambers. "Come sit with me before we depart." The girls glanced at one another before sitting on either side of the large man they called father. "Your mothers would be so proud to see you all dressed up."

Both girls looked taken back their father's words, for neither had heard him speak about both their mothers while they were in the same room. "Don't look so shocked, I only wanted to talk to you girls about how to behave at the court." Hajime smiled as he watched his girls relax. He went through all the things he remembered from the last time he was in the presence of the Inu Daiyokai.

Daisuke arrived as soon as it was time to depart, being the only other one that was going with them. They all flew through the skies on Hajime's back as he had transformed into a large white wolf. It took them less than an hour to arrive in that fashion, yet by then it had turned to night. The girls were shocked when they saw the large castle that belonged to the Lord of the West.

"It's so big and it sparkles!" Fuyuko gazed at the castle in awe. "We get to have a gathering inside of it! I'm so excited!" Her tail twitched with her enthusiasm.

"Calm down, Hun." Hajime's deep voice hinted humor at his youngest daughter's excitement. "Remember your manners and stay close to us." Though he and his clan accepted the young hanyou, he was terrified of what would happen if he lost her to the hands of another demon lord.

"It's alright, father." Kiyoko rested her pale hand on her father's arm, knowing his worry for her sister. 'If something would happen to Fuyuko, demon lord or not, I'd rip out their throat.' She thought, dangerously, her calm demeanor faltering for a second.

The three wolves and hanyou made their way into the great hall, where other yokai were chatting, dancing and all around having a blast. Fuyuko was in awe at all the sights around her, but her eyes stopped moving when they landed on him.

The male had an air of elegance and dignity about him, his movements fluid and swift. His silvery white hair cascaded down his back and his eyes were made of molten gold. Two magenta stripes marked his cheeks just under the golden pools, a magenta stripe on each of his eyelids as well as an indigo crescent moon resting on his brow. He was simply breath taking to the young hanyou.

Kiyoko noticed her sister staring at the young lord and smiled, finding the younger girl was instantly attracted to him. She then spotted the Lord of the West himself, as well as his mate. Their small group approached the lord and his family.

"Hajime!" The Inu Daiyokai greeted the wolf with a mighty hand shake, all smiles.

"Inu no Taisho, it has been a long time old friend." Hajime smiled. "You haven't aged a bit since we last saw one another!"

"You seem to have a few more gray hairs since we last met." The western lord joked. "Your girls giving you that much trouble?"

"If only you knew." The wolf smiled his trade mark grin. "And your boy is a lot bigger from when I last saw him!"

"He was but a pup the last time you saw him, it has been a few hundred years since we last chatted." Inu no Taisho smiled as his gaze went to the eldest of his friend's daughters. "You must be Kiyoko. You look so much like your late mother." He watched as the girl bowed and smiled politely at him. He turned his gaze to the younger girl, noticing her ears and tail as well as where she was staring. "This little cutie must be Fuyuko!" The girl snapped to attention as she heard her name and bowed quickly.

"Ah, a hanyou." The western lady, Inukimi spoke softly from behind her mate. "I knew I smelled the foul stench of human coming from somewhere." Her eyes were narrowed as she saw the midnight haired girl flinch at her harsh words. She had also seen how the girl was staring at her only son.

"Dear." Inu no Taisho said with a stern warning in his voice, telling her not to insult his guests. He also noticed how the young girl's ears had lost their perkiness.

"Father, I'm going to go outside to get some fresh air." Fuyuko kept her eyes down as she spoke. "It was nice to meet you, Lord Inu, your family as well." She bowed as she made her way back outside.

"We shall have a long talk after this night is over." The daiyokai growled over at his mate, who just narrowed her golden eyes at him. "I apologize for the rude way Inukimi spoke of your daughter, Hajime." He smiled sadly, noticing the girls sister had a death glare pointed at his mate. He then noticed his son had gone outside not too far behind the young hanyou. 'He's probably just curious of the poor thing.' He thought.

…

Fuyuko sat in a tree just off a few yards from the castle gates, looking down at her feet. Tears glistened in her emerald orbs as she thought of the beautiful demoness' harsh words. She couldn't help that she was half human, and no one at home had harassed her for being such. A few of the tears finally spilled over and dripped off of her chin to the ground below.

Sesshomaru found the hanyou with almost no problem due to her mingling human and wolf scent. He watched her from the shadows as a soft sob reached his ears. 'What a strange creature that hanyou is.' He thought as water came out of her eyes. His lady mother must have really upset the girl.

"Why are you crying?" he asked, not truthfully concerned for the hanyou, but more curious as to how what his mother had said had upset her.

Fuyuko gasped as the deep voice reached her ears. She looked down to see golden eyes gazing at her out of the shadows. He walked out of the shadows and his silvery hair glistened in the moonlight. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the young lord.

"Well?" he questioned as he watched her movements.

"Sorry." She apologized quickly and wiped a few tears from her eyes. "No disrespect for your lady mother, but her words… they were just so cruel." Her ears lowered down to her head at the memory.

"Hn." Sesshomaru scoffed as he turned his gaze away from her. "What would you expect? Your mother was human and humans are a disgrace." He heard her suck in a breath and watched her from the corner of his eye as she jumped out of the tree.

"Lord's son or not," Fuyuko was fuming now, "my mother was a wonderful woman from what my father tells me! Nothing can make me think otherwise!" She kept her gaze locked on his golden one. "At least their mating wasn't arranged like yours is gonna be."

"I'll get to mate, at the least, unlike you. No one wants half-blood kids… Oh wait, your father apparently did." He snarled at her.

That was the last straw, no one disrespects her father. Fuyuko dashed forward at the young daiyokai with lightning speed and slashed a claw along one of his facial stripes. He growled darkly as he caught her hand and pushed her to the ground. He poised himself over top of her and drew his other hand back by his face, a green glow surrounding his claws.

"How dare you strike out at this Sesshomaru, half breed?" He snarled into her face. She looked back at him with utter defiance in her emerald green eyes.

"You had it coming for your rudeness, mutt." She growled right back at him. He cracked his knuckles as his eyes flashed red for a brief second. His face was mere inches from hers now, his claws ready to slice into her. Fuyuko thought quickly about how to get him off of her and smirked at her plan. He saw the smirk and narrowed her eyes at her, his form more threatening than ever.

Fuyuko quickly closed the distance between them and pushed her lips to his in defense. She watched as his eyes went from angered to shocked in a matter of seconds. She hadn't imagined her first kiss being in self-defense, yet she enjoyed the feel of his soft lips on hers. She let her head fall back to the earth below her and smirked at the dumb founded look on his face.

She lifted her head up once more, her lips close to his perfectly pointed ear. "I submit; you're obviously stronger than me." Fuyuko whispered as her head fell back to the ground and she exposed her neck to him in defeat.

Sesshomaru quickly looked down at the feisty hanyou, still in shock by her actions. He watched her neck tilt and snarled at here one last time before he removed himself from her and the hard ground. He made his way back to the castle but gave the girl one last glance.

She smiled to herself and looked up at the stars, breathing in the chill night air. "That was amazing." She mused to herself as she closed her eyes. Fuyuko had never felt more alive than she had a moment ago. A soft swooshing sound came from the woods but she paid it no mind until she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. She opened her eyes as she looked at the spear that protruded from her abdomen. An oozing green liquid covered most of the spear and she realized what it was as she pulled it out. It was poison.

She quickly sat up and held her bleeding wound as an arrow flew from the woods, embedding itself in her back. Fuyuko screamed in pain as she reached back and removed the arrow, seeing the green ooze on it as well. "Show yourself!" She growled.

A small group of wolf yokai walked out from between the trees and brush. "Heh… half of what I am is trying to take me down, how ironic." Another spear wielding wolf growled as he plunged the poison tipped weapon straight into her heart. He and his companions quickly departed as soon as her breathing stopped.

…

Kiyoko, worried about her sister, had gone outside to see the young lord walking up toward the entrance. She bowed politely to him as he watched her with his golden gaze. "Your sister, is a real handful is she not?" He questioned.

"Yes, my lord, she can be." Her soft green eyes lit up at a memory of the hanyou. They both froze when the scent of blood assaulted their sense of smell. "Oh no…" She muttered and took off toward where the smell was coming from, Sesshomaru right on her heels. Kiyoko definitely knew that smell, it was the smell of her sister's blood.

They made it to the spot where Sesshomaru left the young hanyou and both looked shocked. The girl before them lay in a puddle of her own blood, a spear sticking out of her chest. "No…" Kiyoko mumbled as she rushed to her sister's side, smearing blood all over her white kimono. She cradled the younger girl's body to her as she started to sob. Sesshomaru was just as shocked as the wolf before him.

….

A/N- Hey guys! I've finally come up with something that I liked, since I haven't written anything in a while, for those reading "Howls of Devastation" I apologize, but that story is on a hiatus for now. And here is a list of names and meanings!

Fuyuko-Child of winter, as in she was born in the winter.

Kiyoko- "Pure child" as in her being a pure blooded demon.

Daisuke- "Great Helper" since he's Hajime's right hand man.

Hajime- "Beginning" since he is the start of his family's line.

Asami-"Morning beauty" (Kiyoko's mother)

Harumi- "Spring beauty" (Fuyuko's mother.)